He brought her clothes over to her and laid them out on a sun-drenched rock.
“Are there other shifters in your family?” she asked.
“All of them.” He grinned. “Every single one. The gene is strong in my family, apparently. Even in families full of shifters, there’s no guarantee the ability will show up.”
“What about if neither parent is a shifter?” Holly asked, thinking of Garret.
“There have been no formal studies yet,” Keller began. “What scientist would go after something that sounds so fantastical? But the working theory is that shifter numbers were far higher in the past. Shifters of some sort are woven into almost every mythology. I reckon there had to be quite a few of us back in the day. Most families probably have a drop or two of shifter blood in them without even knowing it. It’s not even considered a possibility until a random child starts growing and growing fangs.”
“Do shifter babies really do that?” Holly laughed.
“They’re pretty bad at controlling when they shift.” He laughed. “Sometimes our house looked like it was full of toddlers, then it would suddenly look like a bear cub sanctuary.”
“The necessary baby proofing must be ridiculous.” Holly grinned.
“Why do you think we live in areas like this?” Keller chuckled. “It’s easy to explain to tourists why everything is bear-proofed when you’re in a town that would conceivably have a bear problem.”
Holly tipped her head back and laughed. “Do tourists really ask?”
“All the time,” he said. “A few of us have been spotted shifting in the past.”
Holly’s eyes went wide. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Keller replied. “People will apply the most logical explanation to what they see, whether it makes sense or not. Luckily, less than ten visitors have seen someone shift since the town opened up to tourists. It’s pretty easy to nip that in the bud. If I walked into the town square and shifted, it would be a different story.”
“But not all of the residents know of the shifters, right?”
“That’s true.” He nodded. “Though anyone who lives here, whether or not they know of the shifter community, understands that this place isn’t normal.”
“There is so much more to this little town than meets the eye,” Holly said thoughtfully. “Even the stuff that has nothing to do with bears is interesting.”
“Pearl has a couple of books about the non-bear related town history. You should check them out. This town was originally built up around three plentiful silver mines.”
“Oh, really? I thought the name Silver Spruce was because of the mist that’s always hanging about. I’ll definitely check those books out.”
“Good. Did I do a good job of distracting you from the cold?”
Holly’s eyes widened as she realized she wasn’t shivering. Her skin was dry and perfectly sun-warmed.
“Yes, you did! Well done.” She stood up and tugged on her clothes. Her hair was still wet. Luckily, she had a hair tie in her pocket. The last thing she wanted was to feel icy spring water seeping through the back of her shirt as she walked.
“Do you want to walk back or take another ride on the bear?” Keller winked.
Before Holly could say the witty comeback she had ready, something rustled in the woods beyond. Keller went stone still, listening. Holly looked around, but she didn’t see anything. Keller sniffed the air. A low growl tore from his lips.
“What is it?” she whispered.
“Something’s not right. Stay right here. I’ll be back in two minutes.” Before Holly could protest, Keller shifted into his bear form and tore off into the woods.
“Shit,” she muttered. Now that she was alone, the forest seemed way more imposing. The trees stretched taller. The sweet birdsong sounded like something out of a horror film. Even the dark, cool water of the spring looked ominous.
A twig snapped behind her. She whirled around, clutching her chest. She didn’t have any idea how to fight, but she figured if she lashed out hard enough, she’d deal damage to whatever was creeping up behind her.
Loch stepped out of the shadows with an infuriating smirk on his face.
Holly let out a shuddering gasp as her panic gave way to anger.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she snapped. “You scared the daylights out of me.”
“The same could be said for the poor fish who live in that spring,” he said. “I never took you for an outdoor girl.”
Holly paled as she realized what he was implying.
“You watched us?” Her upper lip curled in disgust.
“I caught the tail end of your little show.” He nodded. “Before you call me a perv or a creeper, I wasn’t following you. I heard suspicious noises and decided to investigate, much like your boy toy just did.”
“Don’t call him that,” Holly scoffed. “Did you make those noises to draw him off?”
“That’s something I would do, but no, I didn’t.” His face turned serious. “There are people out there, though. I came to warn you about them.”
“People? You mean the ones who want to return to the dark ways?”
“They’re getting close. I don’t know what they have planned. I don’t think they trust me anymore.”
Cold fear replaced Holly’s burning anger.
“What are you going to do?” she asked. “Can you get out?”
“I’m in too deep to get out yet. If I bail now, they’ll know I’ve double-crossed them. I have to wait a little while longer.”
“I can’t keep lying to the others,” Holly said. “I have to tell them everything you’ve told me.”
“Do that, and we’re
